Hamster Central - View Single Post - Chronic Kidney Disease / Chronic Renal Failure: diagnosis, "treatment" options

student1304 · 04-19-2012, 05:56 AM

Hi,

This is a very interesting thread, I had a Russian Dwarf hamster Diego who sadly passed at 4 weeks and we was told by the vets it was probably this.
I think the main problem with us, is we didn't notice the signs. He drank/urinated a lot from day one and we just thought it was normal for him. However he didn't suffer weight loss, but then again he never gained any, and he still appeared quite active.
I think also with hamsters they go down so quickly that its hard to help. Diego was his normal self one day and the next day he was laid unmoving. I couldn't coax him to eat or drink and I didn't dare pick him up, he seemed to exhibit pain in his sides. He was immediately in at the Vets, who suggested putting him to sleep. I was told that with him being so young, he likely had CKD from birth and that not much could be done.
Its a sad situation, I'm now reading up on hamster illnesses because I do think one of the best ways is knowing the tiniest of symptoms as they rarely show they are in pain.
Thanks for the info!

04-19-2012, 05:56 AM
student1304 Hamster Pup Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 210	Re: Chronic Kidney Disease / Chronic Renal Failure: diagnosis, "treatment" options Hi, This is a very interesting thread, I had a Russian Dwarf hamster Diego who sadly passed at 4 weeks and we was told by the vets it was probably this. I think the main problem with us, is we didn't notice the signs. He drank/urinated a lot from day one and we just thought it was normal for him. However he didn't suffer weight loss, but then again he never gained any, and he still appeared quite active. I think also with hamsters they go down so quickly that its hard to help. Diego was his normal self one day and the next day he was laid unmoving. I couldn't coax him to eat or drink and I didn't dare pick him up, he seemed to exhibit pain in his sides. He was immediately in at the Vets, who suggested putting him to sleep. I was told that with him being so young, he likely had CKD from birth and that not much could be done. Its a sad situation, I'm now reading up on hamster illnesses because I do think one of the best ways is knowing the tiniest of symptoms as they rarely show they are in pain. Thanks for the info!